DESTIN, Fla. — An 11-year-old Ohio boy visiting Florida for a family vacation might have found the world's largest sand dollar.
Syler Elliot, of Newark, Ohio, was visiting Destin when he went on a boat ride with his father and uncle on Monday and saw the sand dollar in the water, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
A fistful of dollar: 11-year-old Destin vacationer finds sand dollar of possible record sizehttps://t.co/if81xjTWJU
— nwfdailynews (@nwfdailynews) July 23, 2020
"I thought it was just going to be a little thing," Elliott told the Northwest Florida Daily News. "I feel so happy and excited about it."
Elliott dove into about 15 feet of water and pulled out a sand dollar 6-inches in diameter. It is being safely stored until it can be certified by Guinness World Records.
The current record is a 6.49-inch sand dollar found by a fourth-grader while visiting Mexico, according to UPI. The previous record was a nearly 6-inch specimen found in Florida.
Family members believe if it’s not world record-setting, it will set a state record.
“It’s definitely going to be a new Florida record, which we think is really cool,” Elliot’s grandfather, Ben Rodgers said. “A kid from Ohio finds a Florida record sand dollar. Plus, being 11, he’s not a professional diver; he just loves the outdoors. It’s a whole series of neat experiences for us.”
Cox Media Group
